The Best I Ever Had
by TMTO
Summary: What happened to Marika after JOKERS, anyway? Contains JOKERS spoilers, naturally.


**The Best I Ever Had**

 **This story takes place immediately after Magical Girl Raising Project: JOKERS**

 **Marika Fukuroi**

Styler Mimi was dead. The Shufflin had killed her. But did she really have to die? She could have stayed in her boutique, raking in the fees for her rare - and exquisite - services and never come into contact with the Shufflin.

If not for Marika Fukuroi.

Marika Fukuroi the Flower Vendor, so rowdy she had been expelled from Mao's School. Marika Fukuroi, so savage that it had taken enough magical girls to subdue half a nation to throw her out of Mao Pam's funeral. Marika Fukuroi, who had dragged her best friend into a place she did not have to be and into danger that she did not have to face.

Marika Fukuroi.

Murderer of Styler Mimi.

She had not killed Mimi with her own hands, but she might as well have. In the halls of that research facility, Mimi had concealed them, prioritized Marika and Cherry's safety over her own… and for that, she had paid the ultimate price.

Torn apart.

At first, they were simply words to Marika, but after the underground lab incident, they had taken on a terrible reality for her.

The King of Clubs Shufflin had torn Mimi's body in half. It had made her so mad that she almost wasted the sacrifice Mimi had made… almost.

Marika Fukuroi got mad.

But more importantly, Marika Fukuroi got _even_.

First the King of Clubs, then the Ace of Spades. Though it had cost another life - poor, poor Prism Cherry, she really had been a hero right until the end - Marika had avenged the deaths of her friends, and in the case of the Ace of Spades, overcome the bogeyman which had haunted them throughout the underground facility.

Then she had passed out, possibly never to awaken again.

But awaken she did, alone in a hospital bed with nobody around her. Why would there be? She had only been picked up as part of the Hippocratic Oath. The fact was that she had been such a jerk to everyone around her that she was now _persona non grata_ to… well, just about everyone.

Nobody cared if she lived or died. Not any more. With all her friends dead, Marika alone was left with the terrible burden of survival.

She examined her body. Pretty much all her injuries had healed and she was in good shape, so she essentially discharged herself.

Nobody seemed particularly eager to keep her around.

***

The first place Marika went after that was the mortuary. The people there did not get many visitors and word had not yet reached them about her bad reputation, so when she asked them if they were storing certain bodies, they dutifully complied.

What a toll.

Princess Quake, the earth-themed Magical Girl. Princess Tempest, the wind-themed Magical Girl. Princess Inferno, the fire-themed Magical Girl.

Umbrain. Lady Proud. Uttakatta. Kafuria. Filuru.

Prism Cherry.

Styler Mimi.

The fact that the water-themed Magical Girl (Princess Deluge?) and Snow White were not among that number was heartening, but looking at the two halves of Styler Mimi made her heart ache.

" _Who'll do up my body after I die?"_ Mimi had once asked.

Marika balled up her fists, and fought the urge to punch until she exorcised the darkness in her heart. Then, the mortuary attendant asked in a trembling voice, "So, uh, are you going to claim them?"

"Claim them?"

The tension left Marika, replaced by confusion. Marika had no idea what she meant.

"I mean, you know, bury them. Bodies need to be disposed off, you know. It's not like we can magic them away… well, we _can_ , but people need closure. That's not so easy to magic away."

Closure, huh.

That… might help. But how would Marika begin? She was not the sort who made a habit of leaving corpses around, and when she did make them, she never really stuck around to dispose of them

Plus, Mimi was a close friend of Marika's. She deserved the proper respect. Marika briefly thought about digging a random hole in the ground and dumping Mimi's body inside, or feeding her into a furnace. It seemed wrong.

 _What would Mimi do?_

Marika thought for a while, and then she realized what had to be done.

She would need help for this.

As befitted the stars of Public Relations, Cutie Vega and Twin Stars Altair had a posh suite high in the PR division building.

Marika had come to see them because she knew they were friends of Mimi's. In other words, if anyone could help see to Mimi's proper burial, it would be them.

She knew that if she asked for an appointment, she would never be granted one. Besides, she did not have the patience to actually wait for any date she was given. Thus, she had instead rocked up to the building and announced her intention to speak to them.

Her arrival had thrown building security into a tizzy, but just as they were about to (try) and throw her out, word had come down from above that she would be allowed in. Apparently the Cuties felt that letting her say her piece and then shooing her out would be faster (and less destructive) than wrecking the lobby area.

Thus, Marika Fukuroi got into a lift with half a dozen Magical Girls in black and a police-themed Magical Girl. Nobody said anything, not until they reached the Cuties' office and the policewoman Magical Girl opened the door for her.

Inside were Twin Stars Altair and Cutie Vega, the first standing, the latter sitting. They had looks of distaste on their faces as they regarded Marika, like something the cat had dragged in.

"Have a seat," Altair said in a thoroughly unfriendly way. It was clear that she was only going through the motions rather than showing any real courtesy. Thus, Marika remained on her feet.

"What's this about?" Vega asked.

Marika's eyes were downcast as she replied, "I don't know if you know, but… Styler Mimi's dead-"

Those words broke the masks of indifference and annoyance on Vega and Altair respectively. As one, their eyes widened; that was to be expected when they heard that their best makeup artist and one of their closest friends had shuffled off the mortal coil.

"She's WHAT?!" Vega exclaimed.

"Explain," Altair demanded, her eyes narrowing to razor-thin slits.

"I… brought Mimi to investigate an incident in S-City, and things happened, and… yeah. And I don't know how to begin the funeral preparations, and I figured you'd know and-"

Before Marika could continue, Cutie Vega got to her feet and walked up to Marika, who looked up just in time to get suckerpunched to the ground.

"DAMN YOU! You brainless fucking _cunt_ , why'd you have to drag Mimi into your mess as well?!"

"Holy crap, Vega, cool it!" Altair exclaimed, trying to pull her partner back. If a fight broke out, this might blow up as badly as the Dark Cutie scandal.

Behind Marika, several black-suited Magical Girls stepped up, clearly apprehensive about having to subdue her, but their loyalty to their paychecks overrode any hesitation. However, the police-themed Magical Girl who led them indicated that they should wait, because Marika was not showing any signs of hostility.

If anything, it looked like that punch - a love tap by Magical Girl standards - had actually hurt Marika.

"Let go of me, Altair! Let me go, dammit!"

"Vega! Hitting her doesn't make a difference now. But… damn, Mimi? She was at the 36th Hell Survival Games with us, right? That means…"

Altair shook her head, even as she tried to wrestle the flailing Vega back into her seat. For a moment it seemed as though she and Marika had exchanged roles.

"If someone like Mimi got taken down… that means it must have been really dangerous," Altair mused. Then she turned a poisonous glare on Marika, no less hateful than that of her partner.

"And _you_ roped her into it. Now she's dead and you want us to pick up the pieces? How _dare_ you."

In contrast to the storm of Vega's anger, Altair's cold, razor-sharp accusation slipped through the chink in Marika's emotional armor and speared her through the heart.

It hurt in a way no physical blow ever could.

Marika wanted to scream.

She wanted to stomp her feet and smash windows and flip tables and punch holes in the walls.

 _Mimi was my friend too, dammit!_ she thought.

However, in her heart of hearts, she knew that Altair was right. It had been a dangerous mission, and she had dragged Mimi in after her. And unlike herself, Mimi had not been tough enough to survive.

 _What would Mimi do?_

After reflecting on that, Marika knew that making a scene now was pointless. She needed their help, and that meant swallowing all the shit they were going to dish out.

It was the least she could do, for Mimi.

"Dammit, why couldn't it have been _you_ instead?" Vega wailed, and then she cupped her face in her hands. The sounds of sobbing leaked from between her fingers. Most of the Magical Girls behind Marika had complex expressions on their faces; sadness at the loss of Mimi, and anger directed at Marika.

Even the police-themed Magical Girl was looking aside, unsure of whether to hold her people back any longer.

Silence fell over the room, the air thick with emotion and anticipation. Marika clenched her fists and grit her teeth, but she choked back everything she wanted to say and slowly rose to her feet.

In the end, it was Altair, her face a frozen mask, who broke the silence.

"We'll take care of it," she said. "Mimi was a good friend, and this is the least we can do for her."

They may have hated Marika for what she did, but at least on that point they were in agreement.

Marika was about to speak, but Altair interrupted her.

"There are terms," Altair tersely interrupted Marika. "We will announce and organize the funeral. You are _not_ invited. I don't give a damn what you do afterwards, but do _not_ show up for the wake. You've hurt enough people already. If you have even the slightest shred of decency left in you; you'll stay the hell away and not rub more salt into their wounds."

The venom dripping from Altair's lips could have killed a Magical Girl. Indeed, right now, she was willing a certain Magical Girl would drop dead on the spot.

All said Magical Girl could do right now was nod. Altair's face remained impassive.

"Then we're done here. Show her out, Patricia," Altair said as she patted Vega on the shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Vega shouted. "Don't fucking touch me!"

Altair pulled Vega close. Vega threw her arms around Altair's waist and wept copiously into her side.

That was the last thing Marika saw before the door closed behind her.

Marika walked from the Cuties' room like a Death Row prisoner going to the execution chamber. Her mind was blank. Her footsteps were heavy.

This was entirely out of character for Marika Fukuroi, but perhaps that was how hard it had hit her.

Barred from her own friend's - her _only_ friend's - funeral.

There was an irony in this, but right now it hurt too much to contemplate.

She (and her escort) left the room as quietly as they had entered it, going down to the ground floor and the lobby. They moved for a while, and then light flared, and a door opened. The police-themed Magical Girl pointed forward from beside her.

"Door's over there," she said in professional tones.

Marika moved numbly forward, and the door slid shut again, leaving her alone and on the outside.

 _Several days later…_

Mimi had touched many lives as a Magical Girl aesthetician, and Twin Stars Cutie Altair and Cutie Vega had spared no expense in sending Mimi off. As a result her wake was almost as grand as that of Mao Pam's.

The mortician was hardly the equal of her subject, but she had done her best, and Mimi looked like she were sleeping, rather than dead.

Most of the people who came were Magical Girls with very exotic appearances; they were the type for whom Styler Mimi's services were practically mandatory if they wanted to move around in normal society. Still, there were also ordinary-looking Magical Girls who just wanted to look prettier or experiment with a new look.

Mimi had catered to all of them, with skill and professionalism. The loss of such a talented individual was to be mourned.

The sheer variety of people there made the whole thing resemble the Japanese Night Parade of monsters. The reactions of the attendees were almost as varied as their appearances; some were solemn, some were emotional, some were wistful, and some were angry that they would never see her again.

Eulogies were delivered and words were spoken. Even her few rivals acknowledged her virtues, because speaking ill of the dead would be petty and immature.

After all was said and done, however, conversation turned to the cause of her death.

"How did she die, anyway?"

"I heard she went to S-City to investigate Man-Made Magical Girls."

"But why? Didn't she have a boutique or something?"

"Apparently someone else brought her along. Marika Fukuroi."

"Oh god, her?! What happened to her?"

"Survived. Somehow."

"Seriously? Ehhhh, Heaven has no justice. Someone like Mimi dies and the person who drags her along lives… where _is_ she, anyway?"

"Beats me. There's a dozen people on Marika Watch standing by the door, but she hasn't showed up."

"I heard she went to ask Altair and Vega for permission to attend. They beat her half to death and said they'd beat the other half out of her if she showed up."

"I wish she were in that box and we'd gotten Mimi back instead. Nobody gives a shit about her. She'd be better off dead!"

"Whoa, savage. So, did she? You know, come round."

"What do you think? The Marika Watch looks almost bored."

"Bored? ...Yeah, maybe bored is better. Throwing her out would wreck the place."

"Ahhhh, enough talk about that annoying woman! Topic change, topic change."

The wake continued, and more things were said.

And in the end, Marika never appeared.

It was morning, and the weather was windy and overcast; the perfect prelude to a storm. The smell of freshly-turned earth wafted on the breeze, and the air was cool and ripe with the promise of rain.

The cemetery was almost deserted, and amidst the rows of headstones was a small tent which sheltered an open grave with a coffin suspended over it.

Today was the day of the burial, but hardly anyone had come for that; actually interring a coffin was boring and unglamorous, and the socialization had all taken place at the wake.

In fact, there were only two people present to watch the casket descending slowly into the earth. One of them was dressed in a black suit, and she glared at the other person, who had a flower on her head and a bizarre, ballerina outfit in a floral motif.

Marika Fukuroi glared back at the suited Magical Girl, who immediately looked away. Her job was just to supervise the lowering of the casket into the ground, not to get in a fight. On her part, Marika was content to leave matters be. Once it was lowered, the suited Magical Girl wasted no time departing, sending a message to the crew to come in and fill in the hole in the ground.

Marika stayed behind after the Magical Girl in the suit left, looking into the yawning grave, and at the box which contained the body of Styler Mimi.

Then she looked up, at the polished basalt headstone that had been hand-carved by one of Mimi's satisfied clients. Etched in gold were the following words:

IN LOVING MEMORY

STYLER MIMI

This was followed by a color picture of Mimi smiling. There was no date of birth or date of death underneath; this was because older Magical Girls could have been active for centuries, and that would only arouse suspicion.

Moist grass squished softly under Marika's feet as she approached the headstone. She ventured a hand out, and felt the cool hardness of the glitter-flecked basalt under her hands.

 _Feels like Mimi's body._

She had touched Mimi in the mortuary, unable to believe that she was dead. This was where she had come to realize the truth of the phrase "on ice". The corpse, fresh from the freezer, had been almost as hard as the stone and colder still.

And then, the memories came back to her.

The first time she'd met Mimi. Makeover sessions with Mimi. Talking with Mimi. Sending pictures of stupid crap she did to Mimi. Waiting over the phone for Mimi to reply to a pack of inane texts, even though it was probably some ridiculous hour on her end.

She had done many crazy things in her life, and most of them were shared with Mimi. Doing so had come naturally to her. Mimi was there for her. Mimi listened to her. Mimi was willing to give her a chance when nobody else did. Mimi had taken care of her, when she did not take care of herself.

And now, Mimi was gone.

Had Marika thought of Mimi as a servant? Did she consider Mimi her caretaker? No, she had not. That was the problem. She had not thought of Mimi's side of things at all. Marika had always assumed Mimi would be there. Mimi had come to be a pillar of support in Marika's life, even as Marika believed that she did not need friends.

She had not realised how much of her life Mimi had been until it was too late. Now Mimi was gone, and a yawning abyss had opened up in her heart.

The rumble of thunder woke Marika from her reminiscence. Her eyes were as full as the dark rain clouds above her. What Altair and Vega had said echoed in her mind.

 _-you roped her into it-_

 _-It should have been you-_

 _-If you have even the slightest shred of decency left in you, you'll stay away-_

Why was she remembering those words? And why did they make her heart ache so badly?

She was used to ignoring these things. Fighting was the ultimate joyride; a place where she could lose herself in the thrill of battle and slough off all the negative emotions plaguing her.

Yet, the sadness and despair, things she was used to outrunning, clung to her like an oily slick on her soul.

Here and now, standing over the grave of her best friend, Marika understood.

The reason she was remembering their words, and the reason why they hurt her so much, was because they were _right_.

And as she realised that, the floodgates inside her burst open.

 _I was a horrible friend. I didn't deserve her. Not one bit._

 _But I want her back so much…_

The tent was sheltered from the rain, but fresh droplets still speckled the grass beneath Marika's downcast face.

 **7753**

The Magical Girl called 7753 watched the shrinking from of the black limousine that was fading into the distance. Upon it rode the person who had been her guest for the past month and a half.

Said guest's name was Princess Deluge, and she had arrived at 7753's home in the company of several HR personnel from the Land of Magic. The officials did not explain what exactly had happened, only that 7753 should take care of her.

Throughout their time with Deluge, 7753 and Mei felt like they had been dealing with a zombie. She did what was needed to survive, but she did not speak or interact with them, despite Mei and 7753's best efforts.

7753 had heard that Deluge had survived some kind of bad business in S-City, and so she had psyched herself up to be the best host family that she could. But every attempt she had made to reach out to Deluge had been rebuffed with silence. She refused to take part in any group activities or go out together; simply sat down in silence, occasionally exercising.

She did not speak, though. There seemed to be a wall around her heart that kept anyone from reaching it.

Once the limo was out of sight, 7753 sighed and walked back to the living room, where Tepsekemei was watching television.

"So she's gone, huh?" Mei asked from where she was lounging in the air.

"Yeah," 7753 sighed, flopping down on the couch underneath Mei. "I know it was an assignment from HR, but… it was more than that to me. I keep thinking I should have done more, but I was all out of ideas near the end. Maybe… maybe I shouldn't have stuck with normal methods."

"But you said she was normal, didn't you, 7753?"

"Does she look normal to you?" 7753 replied.

"Yes? She wasn't hurt and didn't seem to be in pain."

"No, I mean, she was quiet and wouldn't respond when we tried talking to her."

"But you don't respond when Mei talks to you either."

"What?! Since when?"

"When you're sleeping, of course."

7753 palmed her face. Mei's naivete could be… trying at times.

"It's not the same. Usually, people respond when you talk to them. It's called being social."

"Maybe she wasn't social? Antisocial? She looked like she was in a shell."

Saying so, Mei casually draped her arms around 7753, as though to serve as punctuation. It was a little like being hugged by a cloud.

7753 mused that Mei, of all people, would know what being in a shell was like. She had guessed as much, even though she had not learned too many details behind Deluge.

"You can't force people out of shells. They hide in there because they're afraid. You need to draw them out. Maybe carrots?"

"Carrots? Magical Girls don't need to eat, you know."

"Well, Mei would pop Mei's head out for a carrot," Mei replied. "But she's far away, though."

"Yeah…" 7753 muttered.

Still, Mei did have a point, and it gave 7753 an idea. Perhaps Deluge was hiding because she didn't want to face some kind of pain. If 7753 could understand what had caused that pain, maybe she would be able to draw Deluge out next time.

"Next time, huh…"

"Hm?" Mei asked.

"It-it's nothing," 7753 replied. However, her mind was already working on the problem.

Later that night, 7753 sat in front of her PC and began to think.

She had a problem; finding out what happened to Deluge. That problem defined its own solution.

She considered what she knew so far; that there were three survivors, and two others who were captured, and then presumably killed. That information did not satisfy the solution, so she would either have to uncover the facts herself, or find people who knew them.

That led her to consider her assets; what she personally could do, and people and things she could count on.

7753's mentor was Pfle - a high-ranking Magical Girl in the Human Resources Division, which meant that she had detailed files and case histories on just about any Magical Girl ever. Under normal circumstances, it would have been easy to ring her up and ask her if she could provide any information on Deluge.

However, there was a problem with doing that.

Pfle was currently under house arrest, which meant that she had virtually no access to her usual resources and contacts. More to the point, trying to make contact with someone under house arrest might result in the person making contact being placed under scrutiny as well. Pfle had told her that much, and warned her not to send her messages unless it was a dire emergency.

Another person she could turn to was Mana, a Mage who was also one of the Examination Division's top sleuths. The two of them lived together. She and Mana had worked together on a case before, and she was confident that Mana would help her again.

However, that was, again, impractical. Mana was often assigned to handle big cases, and 7753 did not want to risk splitting her attention on what might be something important in order to handle something that was a matter of personal curiosity. Plus, it would probably be a misuse of public resources.

Tepsekemei, the Magical Girl playing in the room next door was also out of the question. Mei's motivation was to learn to be a human being. 7753 and Mana were united in leaving her alone to do just that. Also, 7753 felt that she owed it to the deceased heroes of Namiyama High to make sure their last surviving colleague stayed that way. That meant keeping her away from fieldwork and other unsafe activity.

Still, that did not mean 7753 was out of options.

7753 was a fairly experienced Magical Girl - even if she was not a veteran field agent of many battles - and this qualified her for certain things. One of those things - which Pfle had done before being put under house arrest - was to assign 7753 as a mentor to another Magical Girl.

That Magical Girl was called 4649, and when she heard the name, 7753 immediately knew why they had been paired up. Her boss was amazingly competent… but she had a pretty twisted sense of humor.

Still, 4649 was cooperative, intelligent and eager to learn. Thanks to 7753 telling her the full extent of her Magical Skill's abilities and Mana's recommendation, 4649 had found her way into the Examinations Division, where she was a rung or two under Mana. Her powers meant that she was generally free to do what she wanted, and in this case she would not need to do much.

So 7753 dialled 4649's number, and waited for her to answer.

"Hi~ 7753, is it? What's up?"

4649's cheery voice lilted from her Magical Phone's speaker.

"Hey hey, 4649. Look, there's something I want to ask about. Have you heard of any incidents in S-City recently? Like a month or two ago?"

"S-City? Hmm… yeah, there was something like that. What's up?"

"Is there a case file on it you could send me?"

4649's voice trailed off, and then she said, "Afraid not. Actually opening it is easy, but it'd probably set alarm bells ringing elsewhere. If you're cleared for it then you can wave off the hounds that come running, but if not… well, it'd be quite troublesome."

4649 would most likely lose her job. If they found out who she had released the file too, 7753 would probably be charged too. Worse, if they realised she was rooming with Mana…

7753 shook her head. She could not get Mana involved in this.

"Dammit… okay, let's see..."

"How about talking to an eyewitness?" 4649 suggested. "You're from HR, right? Don't you know everything about everyone?"

 _Weren't you the one who just told me you couldn't release sensitive information?!_ 7753 thought. Still, 4649 had a point; it might be better to ask someone who had been there. Plus, it would be easier to ask about what happened to Deluge if she could question people in person.

"Gotcha. Thanks, 4649."

"No probs~ Sorry I couldn't help too much…"

"It's fine. Goodbye."

After hanging up, 7753 leaned back to think. She pondered the survivors, and what they could say.

 _Princess Deluge, Snow White and Marika Fukuroi,_ 7753 thought. Deluge was no longer around, which ruled her out.

That left Snow White and Marika Fukuroi.

In all honesty, 7753 did not know who she would rather speak to. Marika Fukuroi's reputation was… colorful, to say the least. The only person kicked out of Mao's school for being _too_ violent! Flipping tanks and crushing drug cartels for fun!

But then, the alternative was Snow White, the cold, deadly efficient Magical Girl Hunter, ace of the Examination Division. She had brought down dozens of Magical Girls over the years, many of whom had seemed beyond her abilities.

What would she think of 7753? This must have been what they called being caught between hell and high water.

Still, when she thought about it, the choice was clear.

Snow White had a fearsome reputation, but she was a rational actor, in contrast to Marika. If she took a just-the-facts approach with Snow White, she could probably learn what she needed and leave.

 _That's it, then,_ 7753 thought as she punched Snow White's number into her phone.

The phone rang, and then someone picked it up.

"Hello? Is this Snow White?" 7753 asked.

"Who is this?" came a flat, emotionless reply.

"Hi, My name's 7753, and I'm from Human Res-"

 _Click._

7753 stared at her Magical Phone, blinking a few times. Snow White had hung up on her.

"What?" she muttered. Then she tried calling again, but Snow White clicked it off within seconds.

She sent a text message, asking, " _I'm sorry if I've offended you in some way, but could I please ask you about the incident in S-City?"_

The reply came within a minute: " _Examination Division has my debrief. Ask them about it."_

7753 stared at the message for a while. Then she slid her phone closed and tossed it to the bed before looking up to the ceiling and closing her eyes.

Snow White was a bust. So aside from giving up, she had only one option.

"God _dammit._ "

Shortly afterwards, 7753 had finished her preparations.

"Okay, you can do this," 7753 breathed. She had a full pot of herbal tea to soothe her nerves, and she had her Magical Phone in hand.

Marika Fukuroi's number was already dialled in. All she had to do was hit the Call button.

And she did.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

"Yeah?" came the reply.

"Is this Ms. Marika Fukuroi?"

"What do you think, dumbass?"

 _No wonder everyone hates her!_ 7753 fumed. _Wait, relax, be calm..._

"I'd like to ask you about that incident in S-City, if you don't mind…"

7753 steeled herself to be hung up on, and was pleasantly surprised when Marika replied, "Ask."

"What happened there?"

"Punching. Dur."

7753 palmed her face. Should she just hang up now?

 _No… it's my fault. That was too vague. I need to be more precise in my questioning..._

"Sorry… why did you go there?"

"To punch stuff."

"What did you do there?"

"Punched stuff."

"How did you survive?"

"Punched a whole lot of cards."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Punch you."

7753 groaned. Her answer was factually correct, yet completely useless. Yet…

"Could you go into more detail? Please?"

"Sure. Let me punch you and I'll tell you whatever you want."

"Is there any other w-"

 _Click._

7753's bout of muffled cursing very nearly distracted Mei from the picture book she was reading.

Marika Fukuroi might have been incredibly annoying to talk to, but at least 7753 could talk to her. Still, it was clear to 7753 that Marika would not be giving up anything useful without some kind of inducement.

In this case, it would seem Marika wanted a fight. Unfortunately, 7753 was little good in that field. Considering what Mei did to Pukin, she might have been enough… but she did not want Mei anywhere near Marika. Or _in_ Marika. And of course Mana was right out.

Thus, it was readily apparent that she would need help for this, and said help which would not come cheap. That said, 7753 had some money of her own, in addition to a raise from her newly-enhanced position in HR, which meant that she could hire the pick of HR's freelancer catalogues.

The main problem was in actually getting potential candidates to accept. She could not bring herself to lie about the opposition they would be facing, and most people lost interest when they found out that they were essentially being hired to fight Marika Fukuroi. "Money's no good when you're spending it on medical bills," one of them said.

Fortunately, "most" was not "all". One particular Magical Girl remained willing even after being told the details of her employment, and she even seemed to look forward to the encounter. In addition, she seemed to have prior experience with Marika; something which seemed useful in this endeavour.

Said Magical Girl now sat in the seat beside 7753 as they drove up to N-City, where Marika now resided.

"So, you encountered Marika before, you say," 7753 mused as they cruised down the highway. It had been damaged in a terrorist attack some years back, but it had since been repaired.

"Yeah, almost two months ago. I was on contract, though. So I don't think I'm supposed to share the details, though. Still, it's her rep which made me take your contract in the first place."

"Really? And this is just for a day; it's hardly a contract."

"Yeah, well, I take it just as seriously as one. Though frankly speaking, my interests here aren't strictly professional. See, I've always wanted to cut loose and go all-out on someone, you know. And Marika seems like just the person for it. She loves to fight, and I heard she can take a real pounding. So when you came by and told me you'd be paying me for it… well, how could I possibly refuse?"

Patricia grinned, smacking a fist into her other hand. 7753 quietly groaned inside; _God save us all from battle maniacs_.

 **Marika Fukuroi**

Marika stroked Mimi's headstone for the umpteenth time. Her hand lingered briefly over the imprint of her hand, a memento from when her grief had overcome her and she had nearly crushed the basalt in her anger.

The air was cool and moist, just like how it had been on the day Mimi was buried, two months ago.

How many times had she come here since then?

Well, not every day, and less often now that she had met Snow White in school.

Still… she missed Mimi. Perhaps coming to visit her grave was a form of atonement; to show that she was sorry for taking Mimi for granted.

Either that, or she just could not move on. Snow White was… well, she might be a friend, but it was not as though she could just burden her with all of her problems right now. She had lost a friend back in S-City too, and she was still hunting rogues and trying to balance a normal human life with that of being a Magical Girl.

And frankly speaking, this was Marika's cross to bear. She could pray to let that burden pass from her shoulders, but she could not just dump it onto someone else.

As usual, Marika had a bouquet for Mimi. This arrangement was what one would find at any other Japanese funeral - white and yellow chrysanthemums - although with anemones sprinkled in.

The old one was still there, but she did not touch it yet. Instead, she closed her eyes and imagined what Mimi would say if she were here.

Almost immediately, her eyes snapped open again. What she had heard was not her imagination. A car had pulled into the nearby parking lot.

 **7753**

As they neared the cemetery, Patricia craned her neck, and then pointed outside of the car, 7753 ducked her head as the hand jabbed across her face,

"There, that's her," Patricia said, indicating the person standing atop the grassy plot.

"She" was a Magical Girl with a big flower (a shion?) on her head, jagged black bands on her arms and legs, and a purple outfit trailing vines and smaller flowers behind her.

She seemed to be standing over a tombstone, but her eyes were fixed on them. There was a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

7753's goggles told her that the floral-themed Magical Girl was experiencing Regret 5/5 as they neared her.

"Yeah, I see her," 7753 replied.

"I know her rep. She might attack immediately - in fact she probably will. I hope you can take a hit, because she's going to come out swinging."

7753 froze.

"What?"

"She attacks Magical Girls she hasn't seen before on sight. Why do you think so many people hate her?"

7753 had always thought that Marika Fukuroi was bad, but this…

"What, you didn't know that?"

7753 shook her head. Apparently, she had glossed over that part of the dossier. Still, she was committed now, and besides, Patricia was here.

"Don't get me wrong, I _will_ protect you." Patricia said. "This is just a heads-up. She's got a bad rep for fighting, but it's a solid one. Since you're from HR, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about.

7753 did. She had read up on Marika Fukuroi before calling her, and her personal history was… well, she wondered if it was actually a group with her name at first. How could a single person do all that? And who the hell would actually swim a mile out to sea to punch a _whale_?!

The scariest part was the fact that one of the statistics her goggles had revealed was that Marika had Training 2/5… which implied that she could get _better_.

"I'm prepared for that," 7753 nodded.

"Then let's go.

They exited the car together, and then they walked across the asphalt to approach Marika.

"Hello. Ms. Marika Fukuroi, I pre -uwah!"

7753's goggles told her that Marika had shifted to attack posture a split second before the other Magical Girl had physically moved, but the sheer speed at which she launched in beggared the imagination. Had it not been for the goggles and Patricia's warning, she would not have been able to throw herself back to avoid the punch.

Even so, 7753 lost her balance with her desperate dive. She felt herself slam against the tarmac underfoot and the wind blow up her thighs. 7753 hastily rolled away and stood back up, only to see Patricia holding Marika's wrist over the place where she had been lying a moment ago.

"7753, I take it," Marika said as she looked Patricia in the eye.

"No, that's her," Patricia replied, keeping her gaze locked with Marika's as she jerked her chin to the side, indicating 7753. "I'm just a hired gun."

"And here I was thinking she'd fight in person," Marika replied.

"That's what I'm for. You don't mind, do you? Might be rude to my employer, but… she's not really that strong. Probably wouldn't give you a challenge."

A grin split Marika's face. Clearly she did not mind. Then, she addressed 7753 without moving her eyes.

"So you're serious about this, huh. Alright, if you are then, so am I. About fighting, that is."

Patricia cut in and said: "This may be business for me, but I've been kind of looking forward to this ever since that day."

Marika paused.

"You… were from the PR building, right?"

"Yeah, when you went to see Altair and Vega. Glad to see you weren't a beaten dog for long."

"Hey, I was fucking sad, okay? Come on, we're burning daylight," Marika replied.

Even as an amateur, 7753 could see the strength pooling in the flower girl's legs and her body tensing like a coiled spring.

"Goggles, if you want to ask your questions, go ahead. I'll be honest as long as Ms. Flatfoot here keeps it up."

"Flatfoot… huh. Beats gorilla, I guess."

"They called you gorilla too? Well it's always the ones who can't fight that bitch about it the most. Let's go… wait, what's your name?"

"Patricia. Also, over there."

Patricia indicated a stand of trees nearby. They were meant to screen the cemetery from the main road, but in this case they would also shield a pair of Magical Girls from prying eyes.

"You're on."

"Wait!" 7753 cried out. There was one thing that had been bothering her from the moment she saw Marika, and it seemed even Marika had not realized it yet.

"What?" the flower girl began testily, and then she realized 7753 was pointing at the hand Patricia was not holding.

At the bouquet.

It was slightly squashed from where Marika had been subconsciously squeezing it in excitement.

"M-maybe I could hold that for you?" 7753 ventured.

The Anticipation 4/5 on Marika vanished, replaced by Guilt 3/5. Then she sheepishly handed it over to 7753, who bowed slightly as she took it.

"Come on," Patricia said as she let go of Marika's hand. "Try and keep up, Flower Vendor!"

"Oh you're in for it now!" Marika shouted, her previous apprehension gone as she ran after Patricia.

"H-hey, wait!" 7753 shouted as she made to follow them.

 **Marika Fukuroi**

Marika did not know who this 7753 Magical Girl was, or why she was asking about the underground lab in S-City.

What she did know was that she was speaking her language - and so was this Patricia girl.

If they were willing to pay, she was willing to play.

Their first exchange of blows was devastating cross counter that displaced air in its wake, throwing up leaves like a tempest.

Patricia and Marika fell back as one, cheeks bruised from the heavy hits they had both taken. They recovered almost immediately, however; Patricia body-bridged into a handstand and flipped back while Marika slammed the ground with her arms to kip back up, shaking the ground like an earthquake.

They looked into each other's eyes

 _Approval._

 _This was good,_ Marika grinned. Patricia was strong, earnest, straightforward. Maybe a bit too restrained, but that was a cop for you.

The guilt, the regret, the depression, they all began to burn away in the inferno of excitement that flared within her heart.

Patricia took the initiative with a scything roundhouse at Marika's head. Marika dropped below the blow, pivoting on her arms and sweeping the leg out from under Patricia. However, the policewoman had rolled out of the way just before a mighty stomp cratered the ground where her head had been. Patricia sprang back up, regaining her balanced just in time to back up and give ground before a blistering series of machinegun punches.

Then, a mighty thrust kick sent Marika flying back through the air and she bounced off a tree with a grin on her face. Patricia's fist smashed a chunk out of the trunk with a loud _crack_ , and then Marika brought a torn-off branch on top of Patricia's head, immersing her in a cloud of green leaves even as she instinctively rained a flurry of kicks into where she thought Patricia should have been, using the branches to both obscure her attacks and make it difficult for Patricia to counter.

One of her blows found purchase and a bruised Patricia flew out of the branches, spitting up blood from a cut in her mouth.

She was grinning too.

Marika dropped the branch and gave chase, only to be met by a stream of thrown rocks. Some she blocked, some she dodged, but just as she closed the distance, she was distracted by a feint and Patricia knocked her down with a leg sweep.

Patricia was quick to capitalize on the opening; she immediately mounted Marika's chest and began raining blows down on her unprotected head. Every strike shook the earth and it was a wonder how Marika's skull managed to stay intact as the ground cracked around her. Was it made of solid bone?

Then a pair of legs wrapped itself around Patricia's neck. More precisely, they were Marika's ankles from where she had kipped up her lower body, and with tremendous flexibility, crossed her ankles under Patricia's neck.

Marika's mighty leg muscles threw Patricia away like a catapult, but their grip was weak, and she could not maintain a hold. Still, the clinch was broken, and Marika recovered, cracking her neck a couple of times before pouncing on Patricia in a barrage of punches and kicks.

This was how it should be.

 _Forget your cares and worries. Live freely and without compunction. Act on instinct._

That was how she had lived in the past… before Mimi had died.

Instantly the flames died down, drowned in a deluge of sadness. Her blows slowed, giving Patricia the opening to punch Marika into the tree from earlier.

She followed up by pummelling Marika's body with a blistering storm of punches, so hard that they brought down the tree Marika had been pinned to.

As Marika crumpled to the ground, she cast a look towards Styler Mimi's grave. Patricia looked down on her with scorn - it would seem she had sensed Marika's distraction.

"What the hell are you doing, Flower Vendor? You want a fight but you won't give me one? A bit selfish, don't you think?"

"Shut up!" Marika snarled as she got to her feet. "I'm just-"

:"You think everything revolves around you? You think I'm just here as your stress relief? Are you even thinking?!"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up-"

"That's right, shut up and _fight_ , dammit! You're probably thinking about that dead friend of yours, but you think the dead know? You think the dead care? The dead are _dead_! Think about them too much and you'll join them!"

Anger burned in Marika. Who the hell was she to come and say this crap? What did she know? Mimi…

 _What would Mimi do?_

And then she realized it. By asking what Mimi would do, she was not asking what Marika would do.

Mimi was not Marika. Mimi had _guided_ Marika, but she had never wanted to _control_ her. Marika had placed her trust in Mimi because she was the reliable, sensible and skilled one, but maybe Mimi had gone along with Marika's antics because Marika lived in a way she never could.

Perhaps Mimi had been a little reckless herself, enjoying Marika's wild ride and the places it took her.

It was sad that Mimi had passed away, but it would be even more sad if Mimi's friend passed away with her.

With that in mind, Marika realized that the question she _ought_ to have been asking was, "What would Mimi want Marika to do?"

Marika knew the answer to that. She looked back up, and nodded to Patricia.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

Then she turned to 7753, who was taking cover behind a hitherto untouched boulder.

"We'll talk after this. I need to give your hired gun a good thrashing."

Patricia grinned and then took a stance, beckoning with a come-hither gesture.

"Try it, flower girl!"

 **7753**

Half an hour later, both Patricia and Marika were flat on their backs, panting heavily and surrounded by the debris of their clash. They were bruised and bloodied and Marika even looked like she had a broken bone or two.

A broken bone or two would actually be the least of 7753's worries. She had actually begun to fear for their lives when they had started throwing each other into the rocks and then smashing away with punches that hit like cannon shells. However, Patricia had somehow managed to twist away from the worst of any blow while Marika had weathered any and all damage like a mountain.

It was like watching two Pukins going up against each other.

In the end, they had collapsed at around the same time, wide smiles on their faces.

Oddly enough, they had the same readings; Energy 1/5, but Satisfaction 5/5.

Was that a good outcome?

Could she step in to ask her questions now?

7753 stepped out from behind a miraculously unscathed tree and approached the two of them.

"Uh… are you alright? Both of you?"

"My head's clearer than it's been in a while," Marika muttered.

"Feels good… to go all out," Patricia breathed.

"What's your name, anyway? I gotta add you to my buddy list."

"Patricia," she replied. "And I might be busy. But I'll try to make time."

"So, ah, if you don't mind…" 7753 ventured.

"Ask," Marika said, closing her eyes. "I'll tell you what I know."

7753 took a seat between the two of them, passing Patricia a pill from a bottle in her pocket as she took out her Magical Phone and stylus to take notes.

"Alright, so let's start with…"

The skies had cleared up by the time Marika described how she had beaten the King of Clubs and Ace of Spades. That had been enough time for Patricia had to recover with the aid of the healing medicine 7753 had brought with her. Marika… well, Marika looked like she could recover from anything short of getting her head chopped off. If even then.

Still, as she reviewed what she had learned, 7753's throat went dry. What kind of horrors had Deluge seen down there? Her home, invaded by mysterious freelancers and then by an unstoppable army of magical card girls? The dead bodies of her friends and family? Watching everyone sacrifice themselves for her?

No wonder Deluge had refused to say anything or do anything. Just imagining something like that happening to Mei and Mana made her tremble.

7753 actually felt embarrassed to think that she could help with trauma like that…

...No. It was not wrong. Trying to help Deluge was not wrong. Maybe they had not understood enough. Maybe they had not tried hard enough. Maybe something was in the way. But Deluge had survived. Everyone in 7753's home was a survivor. She owed it to those who were dead to make sure the living continued to live well.

Marika's description of the events in the lab chilled her… but at the same time they stiffened her resolve to help Deluge better the next time they met.

If they met.

7753 realized that she would have to track Deluge down as well, but that was fine. Even if it was only for a short while, Deluge was family.

7753 stood by her family.

"Oh, and, uh, I believe this belongs to you," she said, handing Marika the bouquet.

"Thanks," Marika said. She eased herself to her feet, then took the bouquet. Then she began walking.

"Ah… Ms. Fukuroi-"

"Marika," she replied. "And I'm going to do what I came here for."

The three of them stood in front of Styler Mimi's tombstone, heads bowed in silent respect. Then Marika replaced the wilted bouquet with the fresh one.

Her quiet sigh seemed to signal that it was okay to talk again.

"She was a good friend?" 7753 asked.

Marika did not answer immediately. 7753 could see her Melancholy rating rise.

"The best I ever had," Marika replied quietly.

"I'm sorry," 7753 said.

"Me too," Patricia added. Her blood might have been up then, but that had still been a terribly shitty thing to say to someone in grief.

"Don't be. You didn't kill her."

 _Neither did you,_ 7753 wanted to say as she saw the Guilt reading rise. But could Marika accept that? It was clear that she blamed herself for Mimi's death.

That was when it hit her.

Marika was a survivor too. She may have seemed like an invincible, irrepressible juggernaut, but deep down, she was just a person, like everyone else. She hurt and bled and cried like everyone else; she just hid it better than most.

Also, if she was willing to help Deluge… why not Marika too? Marika had lost someone important to herself as well. Was that not worthy of sympathy?

It was clear that nobody else cared. Most of it was Marika's fault… but perhaps she could not help Delicacy and Common Sense 0/5.

4649 had once said that it was easy to love those who loved you. That was a quote from a holy book or something, but the point still stood.

If you only did good to those who did you a good turn, what credit was that? Even a base sinner could still feel well-inclined to those who helped them.

That being the case…

"Look, Marika, if you want to talk-"

"I'll be fine, 7753."

"I just want you to know, Marika. You can talk to me."

Silence. Then-

"Thank you, 7753. I think… I want to stay here a while longer. I might not be coming back for a while. But I'll remember you. Both of you."

7753 and Patricia nodded to Marika and then they left, leaving Marika alone with Styler Mimi's grace once more.

 **Marika Fukuroi**

Marika watched their car leave, following it with her eyes until it left her field of vision before turning back to the tombstone.

"Hey, Mimi," she said to the air. "I'm no good at talking, so I'll do my best. Thanks for always looking out for me. I hope you're happy wherever you are now."

She took a deep breath, and then she continued.

"I wasn't a good friend to you, and I only realised that too late. I'm sorry for that. I'm making new ones now, and I won't make the same mistakes with them like I did with you. I'll think of them… but more importantly, I'll think of you."

A deep breath. Then-

"I know you can't keep me out of trouble any more, but I'll do my best not to get into it. I won't let what you did go to waste. I promise."

Marika touched the tombstone. It was warm now, heated by the rays of the sun… or was it something else?

"Goodbye, Mimi… and thank you for everything."

As she said those words, a weight she did not know she had been carrying lifted off her soul.

Looking up, she felt the clouds in her heart clearing, like the endless blue sky above.


End file.
